In a Time of Crisis, There's Some Easy Ways to Use Less Water

Let's talk about shower heads.

Photo by Hannah Xu on Unsplash

As you probably know, we’re in a water crisis now. I’ve been covering it here, here, and especially here. It’s getting more serious by the day. The Colorado River keeps getting lower, and the seven states that depend on it haven’t made much progress in saving water at all. Grain shipments on the Mississippi are down 78 percent. Ships can’t pass. The water’s too low. Down in Louisiana, salt is creeping into the drinking water and driving sodium up to 12 times the normal level. It’s a true emergency. From now on, every ounce of water matters.

The average American still uses at least 100 gallons of water per day. Some estimates put it even higher, at 150 gallons per day.

The average person in France uses half that much, at 77 gallons per day. India’s average comes in at 38 gallons per day.

So, we’re #1.

Yay?

We’re entering a time of water scarcity. There’s no doubt about it anymore. Nobody will be buffered from this. Historically, the U.S. is a dry country. Most of the land tends toward drought. We just haven’t been paying attention.

We have to change our attitude.

I’ve already written about water mindfulness. You know, we’re flushing as little as possible. We’re taking 3 quick showers a week. We’re wearing clothes until they truly need a wash. We’re using fewer dishes. We don’t water our lawn. We don’t wash our cars. Here’s the crazy part: Nobody’s telling us to do any of this, even though our region has been in drought for a while now.

Then we started thinking about our shower heads and faucets. They’re okay, at 1.5 gallons per minute, but there’s better.

So now, we’re upgrading.

Get low-flow shower heads.

The typical shower head uses 2.5 gallons per minute, but you can find low-flow shower heads that use 1 or even .5 gallons. You can find shower heads that let you adjust the gallons per minute, from .5 up to 1.5.

We’re going to try .5 gallons per minute.

Here’s a list.

Get low-flow faucet aerators.

Your sink faucets also probably use 2 or 2.5 gallons a minute.

You can change those, too. You’ll need to make sure you get the right size and thread. After that, replacing them is simple.

Here’s more info.

Get a sink-twice.

If you’re a little more ambitious, you can start thinking about simple water recycling. Some companies sell sinks that fit over your toilet. You wash your hands, and the water fills up your next flush.

Here’s more info.

Get a composting toilet.

Your toilet probably uses more water than anything.

Eventually, we plan on getting a composting toilet. It would save huge amounts of water. On the downside, a sturdy one costs anywhere from several hundred to a thousand dollars. They need a vent. It’s a little bit of a commitment. Some off-gridders say you don’t have to install the vent.

That seems like a risky venture.

We’re a little wary right now, since we could be moving. We’re probably going to try a portable composting one first. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea to keep a portable toilet around for emergencies, along with composting materials.

To be continued…

The big picture.

If you can replace your showerheads and aerators, do it. If you can drawdown your water use, do it. If you can get a composting toilet, do it. If you can build a rain catchment system, do it. If you can do all of it, do it.

There’s no need to wait around.

Every ounce matters.